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Sunrun Receives Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage Grant

Award will help fund development of smart energy management software to build a resilient and clean energy future for Massachusetts

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunrun Inc. (Nasdaq:RUN), the nation’s largest dedicated residential solar, storage and energy services company, is delighted to receive an award under the Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage (“ACES”) Program, run by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the Department of Energy Resources, to fund the development and deployment of advanced residential energy storage in Massachusetts.

Sunrun’s home battery service, BrightBox, uses the latest solar and battery storage technology to enable customers to save on electricity bills with solar power and uses energy stored in the battery to power through electricity grid outages. Sunrun will use the ACES award to demonstrate how BrightBox can also coordinate energy stored in batteries with a utility’s need for power to balance peak demand on the grid as a whole or in local areas. This can lower costs for all electricity users while making this new technology widely accessible and affordable to homeowners in Massachusetts.

“Both households and the electricity grid benefit from clean energy storage,” said Sunrun co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Lynn Jurich. “Distributed energy resources strengthen the grid and improve reliability. Sunrun BrightBox customers will enjoy backup power in the event of outages and all households can benefit from a grid that’s more reliable because it’s drawing on local clean energy. We are thankful for the leadership of Governor Baker’s administration and we are excited to drive the growth of energy storage as a clean energy resource for the Commonwealth.”

As part of the Baker-Polito Administration’s Energy Storage Initiative (“ESI”), the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and Department of Energy Resources (DOER) awarded $20 million dollars to support 26 energy storage demonstration projects across the Commonwealth. The ACES Program will help direct the Commonwealth’s first substantial investments in energy storage projects that demonstrate the benefits of storage to Massachusetts energy consumers.

National Grid Ventures will provide technical advice to Sunrun on this project. In January, Sunrun and National Gridannounced a multifaceted strategic partnership which includes a grid services pilot exploring the use of customer-sited energy storage to balance the electricity grid.

About SunrunSunrun (Nasdaq:RUN) is the nation’s largest dedicated residential solar, storage and energy services company with a mission to create a planet run by the sun. Since establishing the solar as a service model in 2007, Sunrun leads the industry in providing clean energy to homeowners with little to no upfront cost and at a savings to traditional electricity. The company designs, installs, finances, insures, monitors and maintains the systems, while families receive predictable pricing for 20 years or more. The company also offers Sunrun BrightBox™ solar power generation with smart inverter technology and home battery storage. For more information, please visit: www.sunrun.com.

*Estimated savings based on a projected annual utility rate increase of 3.16% over the life of the system. Actual savings will vary. Savings depends on several factors, including product type, system production, geography, weather, shade, electricity usage, full utilization of the 30% solar Investment Tax Credit by the system owner, and utility rate structures and rate increases. Analysis based on customers who enrolled with Sunrun between October 15, 2014 and October 15, 2015.